Welcome to our blog section for the 2013 season at Omrit!

This summer we have six squares open for excavation at Omrit, and on the blog we’ll be hearing from Williams students in each square about their experiences. I am in a team with Sam O’Donnell ‘15 in square K22, a probe trench to the northeast of the temple complex. Hopefully we will discover something new about a wall running along the north-south axis through the site. Our first few days have consisted mostly of clearing out the top layer of contaminated soil, and this has revealed what appears to be a lot of wall tumble from the initial collapse.

Setting up shade on the first morning of the season

The first week is the most difficult. Opening a new square involves a lot of exhausting preparation- we had to clear shrubbery, set up our tent, measure and string up the boundaries of our balks, and try to level out the depth of our square. New students also must absorb lots of information for the first time—how to take elevations, draw top-plans of the squares, record and catalog archaeological data, and wash pottery—all while recovering from jet lag and adjusting to our work schedule (ah, the cherished 4:30am wake-up knock on the door!). They are also experiencing for the first time the refreshing smell of the kibbutz cows, the chorus of peacocks in the morning at the site, and the swarms of gnats that fly straight for our ears. We all look like quite the fashionable group when we’re out working at Omrit. Drastic steps (and brightly-colored bandanas) are sometimes necessary to protect ourselves from the sun and the bugs!

Sam O’Donnell ’15 modeling standard Omrit attire

Those of us who are returning have missed these scents and sounds and bug bites… Okay maybe not so much. The gnats, though, will hopefully be only a temporary nuisance!

Elvira Miceli ’13 shooting an elevation for her square

Our intense mornings are usually balanced out by relaxing afternoons, when students can catch up on much-needed sleep or cool off at the swimming pool. Eventually I will make a return trip to the kibbutz sculpture garden as well. Yesterday we were rewarded with falafel for lunch, and I have to admit that I’ve been waiting eagerly for eleven months to eat that falafel again. It really is great to be back!